


To Infinity War and Beyond (or Reality Stone is A Bitch and Sends Steve to Different Worlds)

by howtohold



Category: Marvel, Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-03
Updated: 2018-04-03
Packaged: 2019-04-17 19:12:03
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14195820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/howtohold/pseuds/howtohold
Summary: He's the man who killed the Avengers, he muses.But in this exact moment, with the reality stone safely tucked in his grotesquely mangled arm, he realizes,He can be the man who saved, not only the Avengers, but also the Guardians of the Galaxy....and the entire universe.His life for countless others, an easy bargain.(In which Tony sacrifices himself while holding the reality stone, which sends the Avengers, mostly Cap, in different worlds)





	To Infinity War and Beyond (or Reality Stone is A Bitch and Sends Steve to Different Worlds)

If you ask Tony about the things he did wrong, about his regrets, he'll give you a list that stretches from New York to London.

He created weapons to save his country but only to find out, it _destroys_ more than it _helps_.

He trusted his _traitorous_ uncle and almost gave him the power to kill him and poison the world with even deadlier and dangerous weapons.

He kept the fact that he's _dying_ from Palladium poisoning from the _very few_ people (only two in fact, dear Rhodey bear, and his forever wonderful ex, Pepper) who actually gave a shit about him.

He was an asshole to Killian and ended up endangering Pepper and exposing her to Extremis.

His past actions to Killian almost got Happy killed and ended the life of a brilliant woman named Maya.

His mind is _fucked_ up, paranoid, that he ends up corrupting Ultron and Sokovia happened.

He broke the Avengers apart when he chose to sign the accords.

He got tangled up with a young man who has a big heart and a great mind, a young man who looks up to him and _wants to be like him_. He makes a suit for this young man, tells him he wants him _to be better than him_ because, let's face it, Tony Stark was _not a good role model._

(That's what he tells himself, but young Peter says otherwise, and still looks at him with bright eyes.)

The lists goes on and on. He let his fears, his nightmare consume him.

And here's a thought that's forever embedded in his fucked up brain:

**He's the man who killed the Avengers.**

Now, if you ask Tony about the one thing he did right, he'll take a long time to think about it.

_There's not much_ , he thinks, _but_...

He became Iron Man.  
He became an Avenger.  
He does his best each day to be deserving of the love his friends give him.

However, if you ask him again, in this _exact moment,_ he knows precisely what he'll say.

With an Infinity Stone in his mangled right hand, blood pooling in his mouth and pain shooting up everywhere in his beaten up body and broken armor, Tony is sure about the one thing he can do right.

He hears his beloved teammates shouting.  
He sees Quill and Strange running towards him, trying to save him from the inevitable.  
His heart lurches at the sight of Steve, _severely_ wounded yet still trying to get up and trying to save Tony.

_The end is here_ , he muses grimly.

He feels strangely calm because he's made peace with what's going to happen.

He looks at them one last time before Thanos swings a last powerful punch at him with that godforsaken gauntlet.

One stone was missing on the gauntlet...

....the reality stone was safe inside Tony's mangled hand.

_I sacrficed my own arm in order to steal this stone,_ he proudly thinks.

So, if you ask Tony Stark in this exact moment, about the one thing he did right, he'll say:

_I'm the man who can save, not only the Avengers, but also the Guardians of the Galaxy. The universe._

_And I willingly sacrificed myself, because in this way, I can finally atone for my mistakes._

Goodbye to Tony Stark, Iron Man.

Goodbye to the Merchant of Death.

________________________

 

**Author's Note:**

> This was supposed to be a oneshot but I'm gonna try to make it chapter by chapter so it's easier.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


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